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What is Web Application Penetration Testing Services and How Does It Work

What is Web Application Penetration Testing and How Does it Work?

[email protected] / April 23, 2024

Web applications are an integral part of digital businesses. If you want to grow and keep your business successful, you need to keep your web apps safe from malicious actors or hackers. Web application penetration testing ensures that you know about the weaknesses before cybercriminals take advantage of them. This builds trust among your clients/customers and gives you an edge over your competitors. As per IT Governance’s research of January 2024, there were 4,645 publicly disclosed cyber security incidents and 29,530,829,012 records were known to be breached. As per Statista, there was a massive Yahoo data breach in the United States that impacted over 3 billion online users in the same month. In this blog, we will focus on web application penetration testing, its benefits, and its methodologies. What is Web Application Penetration Testing? Web application penetration testing is a cybersecurity practice that involves simulating real attacks on web apps to identify and fix vulnerabilities. Pen testers, also called “ethical hackers”, use automated tools and manual techniques to go deep within the app to uncover complex security weaknesses. This is because hackers can use these weaknesses to get unauthorized access and perform illegal actions like data breaches and payment manipulation. What is the Purpose of Web Application Penetration Testing Technology is always changing and improving, and your cyber defenses that worked yesterday might not work tomorrow. More people are developing software that hackers can use to breach a website or web application. Additionally, as web applications often store sensitive data, people target it for their gain. Web app penetration testing detects network vulnerabilities so that businesses take necessary steps to patch those flaws and prevent risks to their information. However, without regular pen tests, your business data can be accessed by cybercriminals, putting your organization and your clients at risk. 1. Identify Security Weaknesses Discover vulnerabilities in the website or web application’s design and implementation that could range from simple misconfigurations to complex logical flaws. 2. Evaluate Security Controls Assess the effectiveness of the cyber security measures implemented within the web application, including how well the application resists attacks and protects sensitive data. 3. Comply with Industry Standards Website penetration testing can help ensure the application adheres to industry frameworks and regulations such as HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, etc., which are vital for maintaining trust and compliance requirements. 4. Get Actionable Remediation Plans The web application penetration testing results have detailed findings and recommendations for developers to fix all the vulnerabilities effectively. 5. Maintain Client Trust and Brand Integrity A company’s business and reputation can get severely damaged through a data breach. Regular penetration testing makes the website and web application secure. Additionally, it demonstrates trust and protects the brand’s reputation. Do you want to secure your website and web applications from cyberattacks? Qualysec Technologies follows a hybrid approach of web app penetration testing that offers in-depth and accurate results. Use our services to find weaknesses in your web apps and fix them immediately. Click below now! Talk to our Cybersecurity Expert to discuss your specific needs and how we can help your business. Schedule a Call Common Web Application Security Risks There are various types of vulnerabilities that can harm a web application inside out, significantly hampering your business. Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), a non-profit foundation that supports organizations in improving their security of web applications, has provided these top 10 security risks. OWASP’s Top 10 Web Application Security Risks: Security misconfigurations Broken access control Authentication issues Cryptographic failure Injection flaws Vulnerable and outdated components Identification and authentication failures Insecure design Security logging and monitoring failures Software and data integrity failures Different Types of Web Application Penetration Testing There are basically three types of web app penetration testing that can be opted by businesses as per requirement. These are black box testing, white box testing, and grey box testing. The approach is determined through the level of information provided by the client to the pentester. Let’s discuss each of them in detail. 1. Black Box Penetration Testing In Black Box penesting, the pentesters have no prior knowledge of the architecture, source code, or internal workings of the web application. This approach simulates how a hacker with no inside information would attempt to attack the application. In this process, the testers focus on discovering the vulnerabilities by interacting with the application, investigating inputs, and analyzing the responses. 2. White Box Penetration Testing With White Box Pentesting approach, the pentesters are given complete access to the source code, internal architecture, and database schema of the web application. They can use various processes such as code review, architecture analysis, and design review to discover vulnerabilities. As pentesters have all the access, they can pinpoint the exact location of the vulnerabilities and the impact they can potentially have. 3. Grey Box Penetration Testing Grey Box Pentesting is probably the most used and best approach for web application penetration testing. This is where the pentesters have limited information about the application, including a combination of some internal insights and external knowledge. As the testers have very limited but crucial information about the application, they focus on areas that are more likely to be vulnerable and offer a more realistic assessment. Web Application Penetration Testing Methodology Web app penetration tests focus on the web app environment by gathering information about the app from the client or using public web pages. Then they test the application with appropriate tools and techniques. The results of the pen tests are documented and sent to the client for further action. Generally, cybersecurity companies follow an industry-standard Web app pentest methodology based on the OWASP Application Security Verification Standard (ASVS) and Testing Guide. However, some penetration testing firms modify these steps to offer more in-depth and accurate results. 1. Gathering Information: The 1st stage of web application penetration testing is to gather as much information about the application as possible. This is where the company provides the necessary information to the penetration testing team. Additionally,

What is the Purpose of Penetration Testing?

[email protected] / December 1, 2023

The internet world is still growing. People are spending more time (and money) online than ever before, and this trend does not appear to be stopping anytime soon. Individuals have fully embraced life online, propelled by convenience and given some extra propulsion by a pandemic that reduced people’s capacity to make real-world connections. Technology is evolving at a rapid rate, as are the dangers that attack it. Cybersecurity has never been more important, and one of the cornerstones of a solid security plan is penetration testing. In this post, we’ll look at penetration testing, its importance, and how it may help your IT infrastructure. What is Penetration Testing? Penetration testing is a technique for simulating a cyberattack in order to find flaws in your computer system, network, or online applications. It’s referred to as an ethical hack because it’s utilized to improve your cybersecurity. A penetration test, or pen test as a service, should not be confused with a vulnerability assessment, which assesses possible vulnerabilities in a network and makes suggestions to mitigate these risks. Because penetration testing simulates a cyberattack, it is more intrusive. Pen testing aims to assess the amount of risk associated with vulnerabilities in IT infrastructure. Companies invest extensively in their development and engineering teams to establish their digital infrastructure in today’s environment. However, they frequently fail to perform all of the essential measures to secure and safeguard their systems after deployment. Then, when an attack happens on their networks, businesses react by forming an incident response team. This is to analyze their systems, rather than tackling it proactively with pen testing and security scanners. Companies may close the loop on this cycle by implementing a competent pen testing program. Companies follow particular methodologies to perform penetration testing known as, black box, white box, and gray box testing: Black Box Testing: Here the tester is given only the bare minimum of information, such as the firm name. A tester will be able to imitate an attacker who is unfamiliar with the company. When this high-level knowledge is supplied upfront, time might be saved testing for possible vulnerabilities. Gray Box Testing: Here the tester is given more information, such as specific hosts or networks to target. This can give a solid picture of what a focused assault would look like without forcing the tester to spend a lot of time gathering data. White Box Testing: This form of testing entails giving the tester various internal documentation, configuration blueprints, and so on. The tester will be able to devote more time to exploiting vulnerabilities rather than host enumeration and vulnerability scanning. Seeking more information about penetration testing? Talk to our Experts for Free! Talk to our Cybersecurity Expert to discuss your specific needs and how we can help your business. Schedule a Call The Perks of Performing Penetration Testing: The Significance Organizations press developers to create the product they commissioned as soon as possible so that it may be marketed and income generated. As a result, the hurriedly developed code is riddled with security flaws and defects that may be easily exploited for malicious purposes. The same is true for infrastructure, which is frequently implemented in haste since businesses can’t wait and ROI is expected quickly. Penetration testing services help with these hassles with their numerous benefits such as: It Exposes Vulnerabilities A pen test allows businesses to identify where their vulnerabilities exist and how these vulnerabilities might be exploited. This test is performed in a secure environment where the pen tester is working with your organization rather than against it. It’s similar to carrying out a test of your business continuity plan. You believe you’ve got everything covered, but even the best plan may be revealed to have a huge hole when a question or problem that no one has ever considered before is posed. Gives Perspectives on Digital Infrastructure Pen testing aids in the development of a deeper knowledge of your digital systems. This improves comprehension of how to prioritize risks and devise methods to mitigate the most harmful ones. As a result, alignment between repair and continuing corporate goals and objectives is possible. Furthermore, firms might gain just by mapping out their digital infrastructure. Outlining your digital assets, a critical step in initiating a pen test, sheds information on how systems interact with sensitive data. This allows resources to be directed toward the most critical components and the development of appropriate security. It Develops Customer Trust With fresh hacks being disclosed nearly daily in the press, the importance of cybersecurity penetration testing should be obvious from a public relations aspect. When firms demonstrate that they have proactively checked their networks for vulnerabilities, it helps customer service. Pentest might assist in convincing clients that they are in good hands with your organization. More importantly, avoiding the shame of a public hack improves consumer relations significantly. Investing in a strong penetration testing service provider can help prevent trust loss. It Reduce the Number of Errors Penetration testing reports can also help developers make fewer mistakes. When developers understand how a hostile entity launched an assault against an application, operating system, or other software they helped create, they will become more committed to learning more about security and will be less likely to make similar mistakes in the future. It should also be highlighted that penetration testing is especially critical if your company: Has recently upgraded or changed its IT infrastructure or applications significantly, Has just moved to a new location, Have security patches, or Alterations in End-user policies. It Assists with Regulatory Compliance Many standards and laws are in place to secure data across many businesses. If you operate in business, you are probably bound by the PCI DSS standard. HIPAA standards must be followed if you operate in the healthcare industry. Whatever standard your sector utilizes to safeguard consumers or clients, penetration testing providers may ensure that your company meets these standards. Industry compliance is critical because it helps you avoid regulatory penalties, potential litigation, and